Opposition Preview - Rotherham United

Blog written by ad_wilkin
Published: 19th October 2023 10:26

Town are back on Sky with a Friday night fixture against Rotherham.

The Millers sit one from bottom of the Championship table, only ahead of crisis club Sheffield Wednesday. They finished 19th last season and are in for a scrap this one as well.

Stylistically they are another team that sit deep and look to take advantage of set pieces and try to make the game physical and scrappy. Their average possession so far this season is 35.8%, which is the lowest in the league.

In Matt Taylor they have a young manager learning his trade in the game but with stock on the rise having got Exeter promoted to League Two and after keeping Rotherham up last season.

However, despite this, results and performances haven’t been good enough in recent weeks and he has been coming under a bit of pressure from Millers fans and will need to pull some results out of the bag soon.

They didn’t win a game at all in the last period between international breaks but did get a morale boosting 1-1 draw against Russell Martin's Southampton before this break.

<h1>Goalkeepers </h1>

The undisputed number one is Viktor Johansson. Johansson joined Rotherham from Leicester in September 2020 and made 43 Championship appearances last year keeping 13 clean sheets.

His performances with Rotherham have seen him get called up to the Sweden squad and he won his first cap for his country in the latest international break.

It shows how susceptible Rotherham are defensively but also how effective Johansson is with his saves per game rate of 3.9 the most in the league alongside Asmir Begovic.

Rotherham fans rate the Swede highly and feel like he’s been their best keeper in a very long time. However, he does have a –0.93 goals prevented rate which implies he could be doing better and making even more saves than he currently is.

His back up is Dillon Phillips. Phillips has joined on a free having left Cardiff where he fell out of favour and ended up going on loan to KV Oostende at the beginning of last season.

He saved two penalties in that spell but conceded on average 2.6 goals per game. He’s made two starts in the Carabao Cup so far this season but let in six in a 6-1 defeat to Stoke so hasn’t really pressed his case for starts.

<h1>Defenders </h1>

Rotherham have switched between a back four and a back five but someone who has been present whatever the formation is Dexter Lembikisa, either playing as a right-back or a right-sided centre-back.

The 19-year-old made his international debut in March 2023 and has gone on to make 10 appearances for Jamaica. He’s in his first full season of professional football having joined on loan from Wolves in the summer and has acquitted himself well so far.

He also scored Rotherham’s opener against Norwich with a stunning right-foot volley as the ball bounced out to him following a long throw

When Taylor has opted to switch to wing-backs, it’s been Fred Onyedinma who has played in that role. He’s featured there twice but has more commonly been used on the left side of a front three which is the position from which he has scored his two goals so far this season.

The pacy winger enjoys playing for aggressive defensive sides having made 141 Championship appearances for Millwall, Wycombe, Luton and Rotherham, meaning he’s no stranger to that side of the game.

His work rate, pace and dribbling ability all make him very effective in those sort of teams and he is one of Rotherham's main attacking threats.

On the other side of the pitch 27-year-old Cohen Bramall is the main option for defensive solidity although there have also been times where he has been pushed inside to play as the left-sided centre-half.

Bramall is an Arsenal academy graduate and has spent time in the lower leagues with Colchester and then Lincoln before making the step-up to Championship football in July 2022. He featured 39 times in the Championship for the Millers last season and has played 10 of their 11 so far this one.

When a wing-back has been needed on the left, Sebastian Revan has stepped in. The 20-year-old joined in the summer on loan from Aston Villa and like Lembikisa is experiencing his first season of senior football. Unlike Lembikisa he is struggling featuring in a draw a two defeats so far and looking a little out of his depth in those games.

Moving into the middle of the defence is the second-best Cameron Humphreys in the league. Humphreys was picked up on a free in July 2022 having been released by Premier League Champions Manchester City.

He made two appearances in Sky Blue, both of which were off the bench in the FA Cup totally 14 minutes of action. However, he quickly became a key part of the Rotherham defence last season, making 38 Championship appearances.

He’s started eight games so far this term but was injured against Preston and hasn’t featured since and is looking to be out for as long as the new year

It’s a Manchester graduate back two with United graduate Tyler Blackett usually playing alongside Humphreys. Blackett joined Rotherham this summer having been released by FC Cincinnati.

He’s made 10 starts so far this season and got himself off the mark for the year in the 2-1 defeat at Bristol City earlier in the month, drilling in a left-footed shot from the edge of the box following the second phase of a corner.

He’s a defender who knows the Championship well with 153 appearances across spells with Blackpool, Birmingham, Reading, Nottingham Forrest and now Rotherham. As well as scoring his first goal of the season against Bristol City, he also got injured in that game and looks to face a similar sort of spell on the sidelines as Humphreys leaving Rotherham without their two first choice centre-backs.

Another experienced head in that back line is 36-year-old Lee Peltier. Peltier had an eventful first appearance of the season, coming on at half-time against Stoke, scoring, only to then get injured in the 58th minute and have to come off.

With Humphreys injured, Peltier made his first start of the season against Bristol City and put in a solid performance. Rotherham are Peltier’s ninth Championship club and he brings a versatile experienced head who can fill in in injury crises but also is a great one to bring off the bench when trying to see games out.

Grant Hall was brought into the club this summer following a successful loan spell from Middlesbrough last season. Despite being a regular starter in his QPR days, where he captained the team, at Rotherham he has so far had to settle for limited game time, in the squad as another option off the bench and for cup games.

Sean Morrison was brought in as an emergency signing in January last year when Rotherham were short of defenders and made two appearances before dropping out of the side. He has had to settle with a squad role so far this season as well with two cup starts and just the one in the league.

The tall, battling defender has spent most of his career at Cardiff and is another one with a bunch of Championship experience, 274 appearances and 34 goals proving that he is also an aerial threat in front of goal. With Humphreys and Blackett injured and Hall’s fitness questionable, he could end up getting more game time in this next spell of games.

<h1>Midfield </h1>

For the majority of the games Rotherham have operated with a midfield three. Thirty-year-old Portuguese defensive midfielder Cafu is the base of this midfield.

The former Nottingham Forest midfielder struggled for game time once they got promoted to the Premier League, only making one appearances.

He left this summer on a free and Rotherham swooped. He’s made six appearances so far and claimed two assists. He’s been out of the team recently with an injury but returned managing 62 minutes against Bristol City. He’s a big player for the Millers and can perform different roles in that midfield as a six and eight or a 10. He’s at his best when he’s using his combative energy as a box-to-box midfielder.

Replacing him in the side while he was out of the team was former Hull, Swansea and Stoke man Sam Clucas. The 33-year-old joined on a free this September to add depth to the squad. He’s played in a variety of positions throughout his career, starting off at left-back or left midfield before moving more central and developing into the holding role.

The midfield reshaping continued in the summer with the signing of Christ Junior Tiehi from Slovan Liberec. The 25-year-old joined following an impressive half-season loan spell at Wigan and was very sought-after during the summer. He’s struggled to have the same impact as he did at Wigan but adds some more tough attributes to an already battling midfield.

Alongside all of the enforcers, the key attacking outlet and creative spark is Oliver Rathbone. Rathbone has been at Rotherham since 2021 when he signed from Rochdale. Since joining he has made 105 appearances for the Millers and now captains the side.

Despite some good performances he is yet to score this season and add to his tally of four Championship goals.

Someone who has scored for the Millers this season is Hakeem Odofin. The 25-year-old netted twice in back-to-back games against Blackburn and Sunderland but picked up an injury in the Sunderland game which he has been managing since.

With the international break coming before this one there is a good chance that he will be fit and at the very least back in the squad for this one as he looks to continue his goalscoring form.

<h1>Forwards </h1>

Given Rotherham’s fluid shape it is sometimes a two and sometimes a three up front. We’ve already covered Onyedinma who will play on the left-hand side and cut in onto his right foot when it is a three up top.

Usually on the other side is Andre Green. Green who started his career at Aston Villa and had a spell at Sheffield Wednesday then went looking for regular football in Slovakia with Slovan Bratislava.

He was released in the summer and the Millers swooped in to bring him back to England. He scored 26 goals in 81 appearances during his spell in Slovakia appearing in a variety of positions.

He is yet to score since his return to England playing either on the right side of the three or as a central striker, neither of which are his favoured left-wing position.

Rotherham’s main goal threat tends to be provided by Jordan Hugill. The former Canary has seven goals in 30 appearances for the Millers, including two in this campaign.

He’s netted 60 goals in 281 Championship appearances in his career, often turning out for sides struggling in the lower reaches of the division making that an impressive return.

His goal against Norwich this season was a flicked header into the corner of the net having got in front of his man and the second of the season was a cracking long range effort from outside the box that curled past the Preston keeper.

He was dropped for Sam Nombe against Southampton but came off the bench to bag the equaliser in that one for his third of the season.

One of the supporting cast in the forward areas is Nombe, who signed this season from Exeter to be reunited for his former manager.

He’s still being integrated into the team with only one start so far as the 24-year-old returns to the Championship having had a short spell of 11 appearances for Luton in 2020/21.

Nombe scored 27 in 84 appearances for Exeter and provides a different set of attributes in that front line with his dribbling ability and close control. He’ll be hoping for mistakes or injuries to try and force his way into that starting role.

Thirty-one-year-old Tom Eaves is another option up front. His excellent form at Gillingham in League One saw him get a Championship move to Hull where he made 108 appearances. He was released from there and Rotherham picked him up on a free transfer in July 2022. He’s made the majority of his appearances for the club off of the bench including all five appearances this season.

Another sub option in that area is Georgie Kelly. The 26-year-old Irishman signed from Bohemian in January 2022. Like Eaves, he’s yet to have a run in the Rotherham side with the majority of his appearances coming from the bench. He’s averaged 17 minutes a game in his four apperances so far this season.

Someone who has managed slightly more minutes than that is Arvian Appiah. The winger joined Rotherham this summer on loan from Almeria. He has started to make an impact from the bench. Coming on and setting up Blackett's goal against Bristol City with a lovely cross into the box.

He’ll be hoping that sees him push Andre Green for the right wing role. It is his first taste of English football but he clearly has some talent with five England U19 caps. He’s made most of his career appearances so far in La Liga 2 so will be looking forward to testing himself against Championship defenders.

<h1>The Teams </h1>

There’s likely to be one enforced change for Town with Wes Burns injuring his shoulder in Wales friendly against Gibraltar but the rest is unknown. At minimum he will be out for weeks but if surgery is required it could be months.

Vaclav Hladky seems likely to start in goal following a good spell of form, the back four should also remain unchanged with Cameron Burgess on the bench for Australia’s Tuesday night friendly game against New Zealand.

Someone who did start that game and play 66 minutes in Massimo Luongo, this could provide an opportunity for Jack Taylor to start alongside Sam Morsy in the middle if Luongo isn’t seen fit enough to start again.

On the right, it’s between Omari Hutchinson and Kayden Jackson to come in for Burns. With Rotherham being a team that defend deep and put bodies on the line, there won’t be much space for Jackson the run into so I think Hutchinson will start this one with Conor Chaplin and Nathan Broadhead the other two in the three behind the frontman.

Both strikers formerly played for Rotherham but George Hirst is in such good form and Kieran McKenna has revealed that Freddie Ladapo has a knock meaning the former will start against one of his old clubs.

For Rotherham, it’s likely they will play a similar formation to that that did well against Southampton which started as a 4-5-1 but changed to a 5-3-1-1 at times almost with Green coming more central behind Nombe.

Johansson will definitely start in goal, then that back five could be Lembikisa, Peltier, one of Morrison or Hall depending on fitness, Bramall and then Revan who had his best performance of the season when he came on for Onyedinma.

The midfield three will be the consistent trio of Tiehi, Cafu and Rathbone and in the nine and 10 positions could be any of Onyedinma, Green, Nombe and Hughill. I’m going for Green in behind Hugill for this one.

<h1>Action Areas </h1>

Whatever formation Rotherham do go with, the one thing that doesn’t tend to change is the midfield three. That will make it a three-v-two battle against Morsy and partner. To counteract that, Broadhead is likely to drop in on occasions to pick up the ball and get that going.

The centre-halves will also have to keep a close eye on Rotherham’s 10 who will be given free reign to float about. By packing the middle, it could once again leave space down the sides and with Leif Davis and Brandon Williams running riot against Preston, they could have similar luck here against two inexperienced wing-backs and slow centre-halves.

Statistically, Rotherham are one of the weakest teams in the league and rank bottom of the majority of the pass metrics. Where they do have higher league rankings is in their defensive third tackling and blocks as well as the number of aerial duels that they get involved in. Despite that their percentage of actually winning those duels is poor.
All of this looks set up for a frustrating low block with the Millers trying to get in Towns face and make life hard for the Blues. This means it’s likely to play out much like QPR and Huddersfield games so getting an early goal is crucial.

I watched Rotherham play Bristol City a couple of weeks ago and it was a turgid game with both sides very poor but Bristol City’s individual talent won the day in the end. If one or two of Town’s star players turn up for this one they should be fine. I’m going for a 2-0 away win.

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